Shih - Poo

Question
He is 2.8 lbs and I am feeding him Royal canin mini puppy dry dog food. What else can I do to encourage him to eat more? How about lactose free milk? Any treats/ snacks/ rice? What kind of canned food? Royal canin doesn't make any for puppies. Thanks.-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
I have a shih poo about 4 months old. I'm only feeding him dry dog food.How much food should I really expect him to eat? There are suggested amounts but how much does a 4 month old puppy expected to eat? How do I encourage him to eat and how often should I be feeding him ie every 3-4 hrs? Can I introduce canned food at this age? I have heard that some dry dog food could potentially produce stones in dogs. Is this true? Thank you.
Answer -
Hello, Korinne. Good questions! I have never heard that some dry dog food could potentially produce stones in dogs. It would depend on whether the dog was predisposed to getting stones or not (some breeds are), and if that was the case, your vet should explain to you which ingredients to avoid in order to reduce the risks of stone production.



****How much does he weigh right now, and does he appear to be under or overweight, or just right? Also, what brand of food are you feeding him? I need to know this before I can make a recommendation on how much he should be eating per day.****



You most certainly can introduce canned food if you wish, but you will need to adjust the amount of food you feed accordingly. Twice-a-day feedings should be fine for him right now. I would not feed him every 3-4 hours, though, because that will make housebreaking very difficult. Feedings this close together really are only necessary for bottle-feeding or just weaned puppies. At 4 months of age, one feeding in the morning and one in the evening should be sufficient. You shouldn't have to encourage him to eat. If, after you put him on twice-a-day feedings, he still is reluctant to eat, then you may want to have a vet look at him to make sure there are no medical issues causing him not to want to eat.

Please get back to me with the answers to the questions I've asked between the ****'s. I'll do my best to help you figure out how much your little guy should be eating in order to grow into a healthy dog. :^)

Kristen

Answer
Hello again, Korinne. I'm sorry for taking so long to get back to you but I've been a little under the weather and not online much.

I'm going to assume you are feeding Royal Canin MINI Puppy 33, as opposed to the Babydog formula. I hope that is correct. He should be eating somewhere between 3/4 and 1 full cup of Royal Canin MINI Puppy 33 per day. That means that in the morning feed him half, and in the evening feed him half. So, say for example you decide to feed him 1 cup of food per day; in the morning you would give him 1/2 cup, and in the evening you would give him 1/2. Leave his bowl down for approximately 20 minutes, and then pick it back up and dump whatever is left in it back in the container that you store your dog food in. You should not leave it in the bag that you buy it in, but rather keep it in a resealable plastic container. There are special containers made just for keeping pet foods in, or you can use a Rubbermaid-type container - just make sure it does not have any air holes and make sure the lid seals tightly. Keeping it this way ensures that it does not go bad as quickly, and it also keeps bugs out and mold/bacterium from growing.

Don't worry if at first he doesn't finish all you offer him. He will quickly learn (usually within a day) that if he doesn't eat when you feed him, he has to wait until the next time food is offered. Feeding him this way should encourage him to eat, which is exactly what you want, right?!  ;^)

Do not give him any milk or dairy products, as they could upset his stomach and make him sick, which could cause him to lose weight. Not good. If you want to add canned food to his meals, then cut each meal down by 1/4 cup, and feed him one whole can (5 1/2oz) of canned food mixed in with the rest of the dry food. That means you'll measure out 1/4 cup of dry food and mix one can of canned food in with it for each meal. It really makes no difference what kind of canned food you feed. Adult food is fine.

Let me know if you need anything else!

Kristen